1. Field of Invention
Aspects of this invention are related to endoscopic imaging, and are more particularly related to blending visible and alternate images so as to provide an enhanced real-time video display for a surgeon.
2. Related Art
The da Vinci® Surgical Systems, commercialized by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., are minimally invasive teleoperated surgical systems that offer patients many benefits, such as reduced trauma to the body, faster recovery and shorter hospital stay. One key component of a da Vinci® Surgical System (e.g., the model IS3000, da Vinci® Si HD) is a capability to provide two-channel (i.e., left and right) video capture and display of visible images to provide stereoscopic viewing for the surgeon. Such electronic stereoscopic imaging systems may output high definition video images to the surgeon, and may allow features such as zoom to provide a “magnified” view that allows the surgeon to identify specific tissue types and characteristics, as well as to work with increased precision.
In a typical surgical field, however, certain tissue types are difficult to identify, or tissue of interest may be at least partially obscured by other tissue. Thus, different imaging modes have proven useful for surgeons during surgery. There are systems with a single imaging mode and other systems with multiple imaging modes that provide for example visible scenes in one imaging mode and fluorescence scenes in another imaging mode.